New HS Rules Pick Up Pace, Emphasize Safety

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
on Wednesday announced several rules changes for the 2014 boys'
lacrosse season. Most notably, the NFHS boys' lacrosse committee
has eliminated substitution horns — following suit with an
NCAA rules change that many believe increased the pace of play in
2013 — and has classified the targeting of defenseless
players as an illegal body check.

"Intentional player-to-player collisions with players in a
defenseless position are a concern," said Kent Summers, the NFHS
liaison to the committee.

According to a recent video analysis study of 34 concussion
incidents in Fairfax County (Va.) high school boys' lacrosse games,
most commonly injured players were unaware of pending contact. The
study was co-sponsored by the National Operating Committee on
Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) and the US Lacrosse
Sports Science and Safety Committee.

"This revision will reinforce the need to eliminate these
collisions from the game," Summers said.

The NFHS boys' lacrosse committee also has increased the
severity of penalties on checks to the head or neck to minimum two-
or three-minute non-releasable infractions, another measure to
reduce dangerous play.

Here's the complete NFHS release announcing the 19 rules changes
it approved at its July 16-18 meeting in Indianapolis.

***

Major changes in substitution procedures in high school boys
lacrosse will take effect with the 2014 season. For stoppages of
play due to an out-of-bounds ball, a horn will no longer be sounded
to allow time for substitution. Instead, players may substitute "on
the fly" as they can during normal play.

This was one of 19 rules changes approved by the National
Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Boys Lacrosse
Rules Committee at its July 16-18 meeting in Indianapolis. All
rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of
Directors.

While substitution may occur during playing action, Rule
4-22 lists the various conditions under which substitution may
occur. In addition, substitution may take place while play is
suspended as follows: end of a period, scoring of a goal, injury
time-out, equipment adjustment, after a time-serving penalty and
during a team time-out.

A new article was added to Rule 7-2 to reduce congestion in
the penalty area. A maximum of three players from the same team can
be in the penalty area serving penalties at the same time. The
penalty time of any additional players(s) shall not start until the
penalty time of one of the three players in the penalty area
expires.

Kent Summers, NFHS director of performing arts and sports
and liaison to the Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee, said any
additional penalized player(s) shall wait in the bench area
immediately next to the scorer's table but not in the table area. A
team shall not be required to play with fewer than seven on-field
players solely because of players serving penalties. In addition, a
player's penalty cannot be released by a goal until he is in the
penalty area and the time on his penalty has started to
elapse.

"The Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee believes this change
should minimize risk for participants and clarify procedures for
administration of penalties and substitution," Summers
said.

In another change designed to minimize risk, the committee
added a fifth example of an illegal body-check. Rule 5-3-5 will
state that an illegal body-check is one that targets a player in a
defenseless position. This includes but is not limited to: a)
body-checking a player from his "blind side"; b) body-checking a
player who has his head down in an attempt to play a loose ball;
and c) body-checking a player whose head is turned away to receive
a pass, even if that player turns toward the contact immediately
before the body-check. A minimum of a two- or three-minute non
releasable penalty is assessed for this violation.

"Intentional player-to-player collisions with players in a
defenseless position are a concern, and this revision will
reinforce the need to eliminate these collisions from the game,"
Summers said.

"Intentional player-to-player collisions with players in a
defenseless position are a concern, and this revision will
reinforce the need to eliminate these collisions from the
game."

— Kent Summers, NFHS liaison to the boys'
lacrosse rules committee

In Rule 5-4 – Checks Involving the Head/Neck –
the penalty for a violation was strengthened by dropping the
possibility of a one-minute penalty. Thus, a minimum two- or
three-minute non releasable penalty will now be enforced for this
violation. Summers said this increased penalty will reinforce the
need to eliminate hits to the head/neck from the game.

Besides the substitution procedures changes, the committee
altered three other rules in Rule 4 – Play of the Game. In
Rule 4-4-3, during the faceoff in all penalty situations, there now
must be four players in the defensive area and three players in the
offensive area. An exception is when a team has three players in
the penalty area, a player may come out of his defensive area to
take the faceoff but must remain onside.

In Rule 4-10 regarding offside, a team now is considered
offside when it has more than six players in its offensive half of
the field, including players in the penalty box, or more than seven
players in its defensive half of the field, including players in
the penalty box.

"The unfair advantage in an offside situation is created by
too many players on one side of the field – not too few,"
Summers said. "This change lets the foul reflect the unfair
advantage and minimizes risk by allowing officials to 'count
forward,' keeping their attention on the active side of the
field."

In Rule 4-12, Article 4 and Article 5 were deleted to
address confusion with enforcement of the offside rule.

As with other NFHS rules committee, the Boys Lacrosse Rules
Committee revised the rule regarding use of electronic devices.
Rule 1-10-2 will now allow the use of electronic equipment by
coaches and players on the sideline. However, Rule 6-6-3 still
prohibits the use of electronic devices to communicate with any of
the 10 on-field players.

Rules 2-6-1 and 2-6-7 were revised to state that the
officials' authority concludes when they leave the "immediate
playing facility" rather than when they leave the "field of
play."

"Officials should continue to have some jurisdiction if
there is an incident after they step off the 'field of play,'"
Summers said. "This revision is consistent with the language that
gives state associations the ability to address situations that
happen before, during and after the game."

In Rule 2-5, it is now recommended that a minimum of three
officials be used to control the game (referee, umpire and field
judge). While not a requirement, Summers said this change in
philosophy is indicated in order to better control play, especially
with the increased speed of the game.

Following are other changes approved by the Boys Lacrosse
Rules Committee:

Rules 1-2-7, 8, 9: Increases the size of the
substitution/table area to allow more space for players to get on
and off the field and create better sight-lines for table
personnel.

Rule 1-7-5: Any crosse used in a faceoff may not have tape
on the plastic throat of the head.

Rule 1-9-1: Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, legal
numbers are 0-99. This would prohibit double-digit numbers from
zero through 9 (00, 01, 02, etc.).

Rule 1-10-1h: Eye shade that is not a solid stroke or
includes words, numbers logos or other symbols within the eye shade
is prohibited.

Rule 2-5-2: Part (e) of the recommended uniform for
officials was changed as follows: "black stirrup socks with white
over-the-calf crew socks on top or knee-length one-piece white with
4-inch black top or short black socks that cover the
ankle."

Rule 2-10-1: At the start of each period, a minimum of four
balls should be spaced equidistant from each other five yards
beyond the end line and four on both sidelines. On the bench side,
balls should be placed at the scorer's table.

Rule 7-8-2k: During a Flag Down situation (Slow Whistle),
the officials will now stop play to enforce penalties on a second
defensive foul "during the final two minutes of regulation play
with the team that is ahead and possessing the ball in the
goal/attack area, unless a scoring play is imminent."

According to the 2011-12 NFHS Athletics Participation
Survey, 2,338 schools sponsor boys lacrosse at the high school
level with 100,641 participants nationwide.